We may only think we need to bring ourselves or our child in to see the doctor when we’re sick. But wellness checks can be just as essential. Bringing your child into a healthy checkup takes the focus off illness and immediate treatment, and allows you to receive information that may not be relevant in other checkups. Plus, at these visits, you can prevent your child from getting sick in the first place.
Important examinations
Your child should undergo examinations that only a pediatrician can perform. These include checking your child’s heart and lungs, blood pressure, and development (height, weight, etc.). Having your doctor be aware of these and performing regular checkups can help your child stay healthy. Your doctor can recommend lifestyle changes, tell you what is normal or abnormal, and help prevent future issues.
Questions
Wellness examinations are great for answering questions. In an examination for an illness, it may be harder to remember these questions. Or, because you are eager for a solution to the immediate illness and the doctor’s schedule is tight, these questions may not get the in-depth discussion they deserve. But, whether asking general questions or if you wish to know something specific, talking to your doctor important to keeping your child healthy.
These checkups are also a great time to talk about your child’s mental and emotional health. Here, you can address concerns like depression or ADHD, and if diagnosed, learn how to treat them.
Prevention
By bringing your child in regularly, you can catch issues before they become a problem. These include hereditary traits that may become a problem later in life if not monitored. Or, as above, they may be mental, social, or learning complications that you can treat to help your child succeed.
Plus, at these appointments you can catch your child up on their regular vaccinations. Vaccinations eliminate many deadly diseases otherwise immune to antibiotics. Many of these diseases, like whooping cough, go unnoticed until severe coughing begins, and by then, everyone around your child has already been exposed. It’s better to talk to your doctor about these vaccinations before such illnesses can get so far.
When to bring your child in?
If you have a baby, he or she is growing every day. Your doctor, then, needs to see them far more often until the age of 2. Unless directed otherwise, your baby should see the doctor for checkups at:
- 1 month
- 2 months
- 4 months
- 6 months
- 9 months
- 1 year
- 15 months
- 18 months
From there, your child age 2 and up should see the doctor for a wellness checkup every year. Don’t fall into the routine of back-to-school checkups once your child reaches preschool and kindergarten; it may be harder to get an appointment during these busy times. Instead, visit near your child’s birthday or six months from then if your child’s birthday is just before school starts.